Eastern Conference first round (A1) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (WC1) Ottawa Senators The Toronto Maple Leafs finished first in the Atlantic Division with 108 points. The Ottawa Senators earned 97 points to finish as the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two
rivals with Toronto winning all four previous series. They last met in the
2004 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, which Toronto won in seven games. Ottawa won all three games in this year's regular season series. The Maple Leafs defeated the Senators in six games.
Mitch Marner scored a goal and provided two assists in game one while goaltender
Anthony Stolarz made 31 saves to backstop the Maple Leafs to a 6–2 victory. In game two, the Senators came back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game and force overtime, but in overtime
Max Domi scored to give the Maple Leafs a 3–2 victory. Game three also required overtime as Maple Leafs defenceman
Simon Benoit scored the overtime-winning goal, giving Toronto a 3–2 victory and 3–0 series lead. In game four, the Maple Leafs came back from a two-goal deficit to force overtime, but in the extra period,
Jake Sanderson scored to give the Senators a 4–3 victory, staving off elimination to force a fifth game. Senators goaltender
Linus Ullmark stopped all 29 shots he faced in game five, forcing a sixth game with a 4–0 shutout. In game six, the Maple Leafs prevented a two-goal comeback from the Senators by scoring the series-winning goal with 5:39 left in the third period to emerge victorious 4–2 and advance to the second round.
(A2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (A3) Florida Panthers The Tampa Bay Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division with 102 points. The Florida Panthers earned 98 points to finish third in the Atlantic. This was the second consecutive and fourth overall playoff meeting between these two
rivals with Tampa Bay winning two of the three previous series. Florida won the
previous season's Eastern Conference first round series in five games. These teams split their four-game regular season series. The Panthers defeated the Lightning in five games. In game one,
Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and provided an assist for the Panthers, who collected a 6–2 victory in the process. Florida goaltender
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 19 shots by the Lightning in game two, shutting out Tampa Bay 2–0.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves for the Lightning in game three who emerged victorious 5–1. In game four,
Anton Lundell scored a goal and provided an assist in Florida's 4–2 victory, giving the Panthers a 3–1 series lead.
Eetu Luostarinen scored a goal and assisted thrice in game five, giving Florida a 6–3 victory and a second round berth.
(M1) Washington Capitals vs. (WC2) Montreal Canadiens The Washington Capitals finished first in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference earning 111 points. The Montreal Canadiens earned 91 points to finish as the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the
2010 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, which Montreal came back from a 3–1 series deficit to defeat Washington in seven games. Washington won two of the three games in this year's regular season series. The Capitals defeated the Canadiens in five games. In game one,
Alexander Ovechkin scored twice, including the overtime-winning goal, for the Capitals, defeating the Canadiens 3–2.
Connor McMichael scored twice for the Capitals in game two, giving Washington a 2–0 series lead with a 3–1 victory.
Cole Caufield and
Alex Newhook both scored a goal and assisted in Montreal's 6–3 victory in game three. In game four,
Brandon Duhaime scored twice for the Capitals, defeating the Canadiens 5–2 to take a 3–1 series lead. Goaltender
Logan Thompson made 28 saves for Washington in game five, sending the Capitals to the second round with a 4–1 victory.
(M2) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (M3) New Jersey Devils The Carolina Hurricanes finished second in the Metropolitan Division with 99 points. The New Jersey Devils earned 91 points to finish third in the Metropolitan. This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams with Carolina winning four of the five previous series. They last met in the
2023 Eastern Conference second round, which Carolina won in five games. These teams split their four-game regular season series. The Hurricanes defeated the Devils in five games. In game one,
Logan Stankoven scored twice for Carolina, defeating New Jersey 4–1. Goaltender
Frederik Andersen made 25 saves for the Hurricanes in game two, defeating the Devils 3–1. In game three, the Hurricanes came back from a two-goal deficit and forced overtime, but in double-overtime,
Simon Nemec scored for New Jersey to give the Devils a 3–2 victory.
Andrei Svechnikov scored a hat trick in game four, leading the Hurricanes to a 5–2 victory. In game five, the Hurricanes came back from a three-goal deficit, along with a one-goal deficit, to force overtime, and in double-overtime,
Sebastian Aho scored to send Carolina to the second round with a 5–4 victory.
Western Conference first round (C1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (WC2) St. Louis Blues The Winnipeg Jets earned the
Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 116 points. The St. Louis Blues earned 96 points to finish as the second wild card in the Western Conference, winning the tiebreaker against Calgary with 32 . This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the
2019 Western Conference first round, which St. Louis won in six games. Winnipeg won three of the four games in this year's regular season series. The Jets defeated the Blues in seven games, with the home team victorious in every game. In game one,
Kyle Connor scored the game-winning goal with 1:36 left in the third period to give the Jets a 5–3 victory.
Mark Scheifele scored a goal and provided an assist in game two for the Jets, defeating the Blues 2–1.
Pavel Buchnevich scored a hat trick in game three for the Blues, routing the Jets 7–2.
Jake Neighbours assisted twice and provided a goal for the Blues in game four, tying the series 2–2 with a 5–1 victory. In game five, Connor provided a goal and two assists in a 5–3 triumph for the Jets, taking a 3–2 series lead. In the second period of game six, St. Louis scored four goals in the span of 5:23, forcing a seventh game with a 5–2 victory. In game seven, the Jets came back from a two-goal deficit, scoring both goals with less than two minutes left in the third period, to force overtime;
Cole Perfetti's goal with three seconds left to force overtime set a new league record for the latest game-tying goal in a seventh game. In double overtime, captain
Adam Lowry scored to send the Jets to the second round with a 4–3 victory. This was the longest game seven since the
Easter Epic in 1987.
(C2) Dallas Stars vs. (C3) Colorado Avalanche The Dallas Stars finished second in the Central Division with 106 points. The Colorado Avalanche earned 102 points to finish third in the Central. This was the second consecutive and seventh overall playoff series between these two teams with Dallas winning four of the six previous playoff series. Dallas won the
previous season's Western Conference second round in six games. Colorado won two of the three games in this year's regular season series. The Stars defeated the Avalanche in seven games.
Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and provided an assist for the Avalanche in game one who emerged with a 5–1 victory. The Stars tied the series with game two's victory;
Colin Blackwell scored the overtime-winning goal for Dallas to end the game 4–3. In game three,
Tyler Seguin provided the overtime game-winning goal for the Stars, defeating the Avalanche 2–1.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all 23 shots he faced in game four, giving Colorado a 4–0 shutout victory and tying the series 2–2. In game five, both
Wyatt Johnston and
Mikko Rantanen scored three points in Dallas's 6–2 victory, taking a 3–2 series lead in the process. In game six, the Avalanche prevented a two-goal come back from the Stars with
Valeri Nichushkin scoring twice in a 7–4 victory to force a seventh game. Rantanen scored a hat trick in the third period of game seven, becoming the first player in League history to complete the feat. The Stars successfully came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Avalanche 4–2 and advance to the second round. With the win, Stars head coach
Peter DeBoer improved his game seven record to 9–0, becoming the sole head coach to have nine seventh game victories.
(P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Minnesota Wild The Vegas Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division with 110 points. The Minnesota Wild earned 97 points to finish as the first wild card in the Western Conference. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the
2021 West Division first round, which Vegas won in seven games after giving up a 3–1 series lead. Vegas won all three games in this year's regular season series. The Golden Knights defeated the Wild in six games.
Tomas Hertl scored a goal and provided an assist in Vegas's 4–2 victory in game one.
Kirill Kaprizov scored twice and provided an assist for the Wild in game two to defeat the Golden Knights 5–2 and tie the series 1–1. In game three,
Filip Gustavsson made 30 saves for the Wild in a 5–2 victory. Game four required overtime; Golden Knights forward
Ivan Barbashev scored to end the sudden-death period with a 4–3 victory. Game five also required overtime, wherein
Brett Howden scored for Vegas to give them a 3–2 win and 3–2 series lead. Three Vegas players provided two points in game six to send the Golden Knights to the second round with a 3–2 victory.
(P2) Los Angeles Kings vs. (P3) Edmonton Oilers The Los Angeles Kings finished second in the Pacific Division with 105 points. The Edmonton Oilers earned 101 points to finish third in the Pacific. This was the fourth consecutive and eleventh overall playoff meeting between these two
rivals with Edmonton winning eight of the ten previous series as well as the previous six series. Edmonton won the
previous season's Western Conference first round series in five games. Los Angeles won three of the four games in this year's regular season series. The Oilers defeated the Kings in six games after trailing 2–0. Although the Kings gave up a four-goal lead in game one,
Phillip Danault's second goal of the game in the final minute of the third period sealed a 6–5 victory for Los Angeles. In game two,
Anze Kopitar and
Adrian Kempe both had four points against the Oilers, defeating Edmonton 6–2. The Oilers gave up an early two-goal lead in game three and eventually trailed heading into the final period, before they rallied and scored four times, including two in 10 seconds, in the third period that was buoyed by
Jim Hiller's failed coach's challenge, allowing Edmonton to obtain a 7–4 victory. In game four, Edmonton came back from a two-goal deficit to force overtime and in the extra period,
Leon Draisaitl scored to give the Oilers a 4–3 victory, tying the series 2–2. The Oilers put 44 shots on the Kings in game five, scoring three times to get a 3–1 triumph and a 3–2 series lead. In game six,
Connor Brown assisted twice and scored a goal for the Oilers, defeating the Kings for the fourth consecutive season with a 6–4 victory. ==Second round==